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Phases of Helium Governance

This page has not been fully updated to represent the latest state of the Helium Network following the migration to Solana on April 18, 2023.

Phase 3: Realms on Solana​

Realms is the most recent and current phase of Helium Governance. Realms is a Solana native tool for decentralized governance. This tool replaces the previously used Helium Vote system. It is the platform adopted by the Helium Community in the passing of HIP 70 and includes features for staking, delegating, and on-chain voting. HIP 70 defined the Vote Escrowed model of token holder voting as the next phase for Helium Governance.

Realms enables token holders to actively participate in the governance process by staking their tokens and casting votes on proposed changes and decisions.

Where can I see what was voted on?​

You can view past and current proposals on Realms by navigating to either the Helium Network or subnetworks at:

You’ll also always find the in progress and final statuses in the Helium HIP Repository at: www.github.com/helium/hip.

Where can I see the results of the vote?​

You can view all past and current results of a vote on Realms by navigating to the links above and clicking directly into the proposal. Programs deployed in relation to these proposals can be found in the helium-program-library and within the full open-source Helium Repository at: www.github.com/helium.

How can I see how each user/wallet individually voted?​

The Realms “Explore” tab allows you to search for votes by wallet address. Please note that Helium Network's rules for voting differ from the default rules on Realms. As a result, viewing the results on realms.today is not representative of the actual outcome under the Helium Network's rules for HIP voting. For the correct results, please make sure to view them on GitHub.

The results of a proposal vote can also be reviewed by querying the Solana Blockchain and related spl-governance contracts.

You can view the Helium governance contracts on Solana here:

Contract for delegation of tokens to subnetworks for rewards​

hdaoVTCqhfHHo75XdAMxBKdUqvq1i5bF23sisBqVgGR

Default spl-governance contract to govern our own contracts and council​

hgovkRU6Ghe1Qoyb54HdSLdqN7VtxaifBzRmh9jtd3S

Contract for governance to create Helium-specific voting power rules​

hvsrNC3NKbcryqDs2DocYHZ9yPKEVzdSjQG6RVtK1s8

How do I vote?​

Any token holder is eligible to vote. Token holders may go through different steps to vote depending on their level of onboarding and familiarity with the Solana Blockchain.

Users need to have one of the Helium Network or subnetwork Tokens: HNT, IOT, or MOBILE. After this, they need to be familiar with the Solana Network and have a Solana-compatible wallet. A wallet allows users to interact with applications that utilize the Blockchain as a backend for data storage. A wallet is straightforward to use and generally is a mobile application or browser plugin for easy interactions with websites.

After a user has their wallet, they must acquire some SOL to complete transactions on the Solana Blockchain. SOL is the native token of the Solana Blockchain and is required to use and store data on the blockchain. The amount of SOL required per transaction depends on if a user is completing a one-time transaction with a small amount of data or is storing data for a longer amount of time that will need to be called later.

Once a user is onboarded with a wallet, Helium tokens, and some SOL for transactions, they can begin using and interacting with Realms, the Helium Network’s tool for voting. When a user is ready to use Realms, they will need to lock or stake their tokens for voting power, creating a vote escrowed position with their tokens. This vote escrowed position gives them the ability to cast votes on any active proposals for the Helium Network or subnetwork they let you quickly.

A detailed step-by-step description of moving from onboarding to voting is outlined below. All steps that may require the signing of a transaction are noted as such:

  1. Establish an account on a Solana-compatible wallet. The Helium Wallet is a recommended choice built for Helium users specifically, but any Solana-compatible wallet will perform all the functions you need.
  2. Acquire tokens by providing coverage for the network or through a liquidity provider in the Solana Ecosystem. The tokens you have depend on the network you are providing coverage for or the Network or subnetworks you wish to participate in the governance of (HNT, IOT, or MOBILE). Requires signing a transaction
  3. Acquire SOL to perform transactions on the Solana Blockchain. Requires signing a transaction
  4. Navigate to Realms at the addresses above.
  5. Connect your wallet. Requires signing a transaction
  6. Navigate to “my governance power.”
  7. Select “Lock Tokens”. This is how you stake tokens for voting power.
  8. Follow the on-screen instructions to “Lock” your tokens. You can lock as little as one token or as many as you have.
  9. You can choose up to 4 years to lock or as little as six months.
  10. You will need to choose “Decaying” or “Constant”
  11. Decaying means the lockup period begins to countdown immediately.
  12. Constant means the lockup period will remain until the user decides to start the countdown.
  13. Select “Lock Tokens” to complete the action. _Requires signing a transaction _
  14. Locate an active proposal.
  15. Cast your vote with options “Yes” or “No”. Requires signing a transaction

A step-by-step user guide to staking on Realms can be found in Helium Docs: here

View the index of past HIP decisions on Github here

View the index of implemented HIPs on Docs here